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Disney are enjoying a surge of success as of late, with their new takes on classic tales such as 'The Jungle Book' and 'Beauty and the Beast' proving to be extremely popular. Bringing them to live-action, the movie company are able to do things on a bigger scale than ever before, and that's set to continue with live-action remakes for 'The Lion King', 'Mulan' and 'Aladdin' on the way. Announcing the news as part of the D23 Expo, Disney took to social media to tell fans that Mena Massoud would be taking the titular role in 'Aladdin', alongside 'Power Rangers' star Naomi Scott as Jasmine, and A-lister Will Smith as the Genie. No reveal has yet been made as to who'll be taking on the villain of the film, Jafar, but British actor Tom Hardy is supposedly a frontrunner. Directed by Guy Ritchie , this classic is sure to be another huge hit for Disney. 'Aladdin' is set to hit movie theatres on March 29, 2019. source contact music

Following the news of The Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan’s sudden death at the age of 46, the remaining members of the band have spoken out about their grief. “We are devastated on the passing of our friend Dolores,” Fergal Lawler, Noel and Mike Hogan wrote in a joint statement on social media. “She was an extraordinary talent and we feel very privileged to have been part of her life from 1989 when we started the Cranberries. The world has lost a true artist today,” they added.

As expected, “Star Wars” fever has taken the box office by storm as Lucasfilm’s latest installment, “The Last Jedi,” has posted an opening weekend of $220 million from 4,232 screens. That’s the second highest domestic opening of all-time behind the film’s 2015 predecessor, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” and a 41 percent jump over the $155 million opening posted by last year’s “Star Wars” movie, “Rogue One.” The film opened with $104.8 million on Friday (including $45 million from Thursday previews), making it only the second film to earn $100 million on opening day. This was followed by $63.7 million on Saturday and a projected $52 million on Sunday. This total also pushes Disney past the $2 billion mark domestically for the third consecutive year and into the top spot among all studios for domestic revenue. In total, “The Last Jedi” has posted a global opening of $450 million excluding China, good for the fifth-highest global opening in box office history with $40.6 million coming from IMAX, good for the second-highest opening excluding China. The film opens in China on January 5. Hardcore “Star Wars” fans have been debating the film’s merits since screenings started on Thursday evening, but as a whole, critics and audiences have given the film a big thumbs up with an A on CinemaScore and a 93 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. “Star Wars”‘ big weekend comes after Lucasfilm’s parent company, Disney, turned Hollywood on its head by buying the original owner of “Star Wars”, 20th Century Fox, for $52.4 billion. As fate would have it, Fox has also released a movie this weekend, the Blue Sky animated film “Ferdinand.” Helmed by “Ice Age” director Carlos Saldanha, the film has grossed $13.3 million at 3,621 locations against projections of a $15 million opening. The film received an A on CinemaScore and a 74 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Kensington Palace says Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, are expecting their third child. The announcement released in a statement Mondays says the queen is delighted by the news. Officials say Prince William's wife, the former Kate Middleton, is suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum, a form of severe morning sickness, and will not carry out her engagements Monday. William and Kate already have two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.